The use of atomic bombs on Japan to hasten the end of World War II propelled the United States to its status as a superpower. Testing and explosion of the atomic bomb by the Soviets in 1949 established the Soviet Union as a second superpower. How did possession of nuclear weapons change warfare in the Cold War period? *
A. Nuclear stalemate led to the use of brinkmanship to avoid mutually assured destruction.
B. After the United Nations banned the nuclear weapons, they fell out of use in modern warfare.
C. The United States and the Soviet Union both sought to share their nuclear technology with many of their allies.
D. Warfare became more immediate, and many examples of direct conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union occurred.